The ball came off crisp and clean, rocketed into the gray sky and dropped 18 feet behind the flag.”With the tournament on the line, to have the poise and the calm and the confidence to stand there and hit that shot explains basically what Tiger is all about,” said Waite, who finished one stroke behind when his 20-foot (six-meter) eagle putt curled off at the end.”He really doesn’t have to say anything. That explains pretty much what kind of a person and a golfer he is,” Waite said. “He is very special.”Woods has been that way all year.It began in Hawaii, the first tournament of the year, with an eagle-birdie-birdie finish to defeat Ernie Els in a playoff. Every week that followed gave Woods another opportunity to outdo himself, and he almost always delivered.There was that 97-yard (meter) wedge he holed from the fairway, the catalyst to his seven-stroke comeback at Pebble Beach for his sixth straight PGA Tour victory, the longest streak in 52 years. Four months later, he hit a 6-iron from out of thick rough, over a cliff and onto the par-5 sixth green during his 15-stroke romp at Pebble to win the U.S Open.He won the career Grand Slam at St. Andrews, and made it three straight majors at the PGA Championship. He has won in the rain at Memorial, in darkness at Firestone.How does he do it?”Guys pull off some of the best plays and best shots, best competitive performances, when the pressure is on because that’s when they concentrate the hardest,” Woods said after winning Sunday.That’s why the legend grows.Earl Woods was watching the final round from his home in Cypress, California, and admitted to be a little shocked that his son could take the ball right at the flag.”But it didn’t surprise me that he pulled it off,” the father said “He’s that good, and he’s always been that good.

He has this ability to see things with his creative mind, and then he has the physical ability to execute the shot Some have a creative mind but can’t do it Tiger sees it and he does it And he does it well. That’s the difference.”Such dramatics are not limited to this year.When his father told him to “let the legend grow,” Woods went out and birdied the last three holes of the ‘94 U.S. Amateur on the TPC at Sawgrass, including an all-or-nothing shot into the island-green 17th for a birdie and a 1-up advantage.He won his record three straight U.S. Amateur titles by making a 40-foot (12-meter) birdie putt on the next-to-last hole to tie the match against Steve Scott, then beat him in extra holes.The heroics will cease for the next five weeks His summer run into history is over. Woods will not return until the Presidents Cup next month, then play the final three PGA Tour events of the year. He is defending champion in all of them.How much better can he get? How many more times can he win?How many shots does he have left in the bag?”What we’re doing is witnessing Rembrandt paint, and we’re all marveling at him mixing paint and brushing strokes,” Earl Woods said “The more you watch, the more you appreciate his talent. And every week, you see a move with the brush you had never seen before.

And the painting starts to come to life, more and more and more.”It is still unfinished.”. Tiger Woods won his ninth tournament of the year, fending off New Zealand’s Grant Waite by one stroke to win the Bell Canadian Open in Ontario on Sunday night. Tiger Woods won his ninth tournament of the year, fending off New Zealand’s Grant Waite by one stroke to win the Bell Canadian Open in Ontario on Sunday night.
The world No 1 fired a seven-under-par 65 to hold off the battling Waite. The only golfer to win more events in a year was Sam Snead with 11 in 1950 – and Woods hasn’t finished yet.Woods birdied the 16th to take the lead, then matched Waite with a birdie at the 18th after a superb iron shot from a fairway bunker. Waite landed his approach shot on the green, giving him a chance to tie with an eagle, but Woods smashed a six-iron over the water to the back of the green and chipped to within a foot for a birdie and the title. Waite settled for a birdie and runner-up spot for the second straight week.”Grant forced my hand to go for it because he hit the ball on the green, which meant he was a guaranteed birdie, if not possible eagle,” Woods admitted.Sergio Garcia of Spain was a distant third at 15-under on 273, shooting a 67. Sandy Lyle carded a 71 to finish on four-under at 284, tied for 48th place, while Paul Curry had a disastrous 74 to drop down to joint-65th on lever-par 288.*The defending champion, Colin Montgomerie, joins the Masters champion, Vijay Singh, the world No 2, Ernie Els, and the Dane Thomas Bjorn as the first four players named for the Cisco World Match Play at Wentworth on 5-8 October..

Max Mosley, president of the FIA, motor sport’s governing body, last night told Formula One drivers they had a responsibility to avoid accidents such as the one that resulted in the death of a fire marshal here. Paolo Ghislimberti, 33, was killed by a wheel from one of the cars involved in a collision on the first lap of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Max Mosley, president of the FIA, motor sport’s governing body, last night told Formula One drivers they had a responsibility to avoid accidents such as the one that resulted in the death of a fire marshal here. Paolo Ghislimberti, 33, was killed by a wheel from one of the cars involved in a collision on the first lap of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Brazilian driver, Rubens Barrichello, blamed Jordan-Mugen’s Heinz-Harald Frentzen for causing the crash and called on the authorities to suspend the German for 10 races. Stewards at the meeting decided to take no action against any driver, however, concluding that it had been “a racing accident”, a verdict that Mosley accepted.However, Mosley believes grand prix drivers ought to be capable of negotiating chicanes without catastrophic consequences and dismissed condemnation of Monza’s tight corners.”Chicanes are part of motor sport and it’s up to drivers not to run into each other,” he said. “They are supposed to be the best drivers in the world yet amateur drivers manage to get through the chicanes at Monza in races every week.”Barrichello, Jordan’s other driver, Jarno Trulli, and McLaren-Mercedes’ David Coulthard all found themselves in the gravel trap at the second chicane after Frentzen came up behind them.

Pedro de la Rosa joined in when he ran into the back of the jam and his Arrows cartwheeled.”What Frentzen did was idiotic,” Barrichello said. “His driving was dangerous and he should be banned for 10 races He was totally responsible for what happened. He should not be using the car in front as a reference for his braking points.”Mosley said: “The stewards interviewed the drivers involved and took the view it was a racing accident. Unless some completely new evidence comes to light no action will be taken against Frentzen or anyone else.”Sunday’s fatal accident inevitably puts pressure on the sport to re-examine its safety measures and investigate the Monza circuit. The reshaping of the first chicane caused much debate before the race but the incident happened at the entrance to the second chicane, an area which was unchanged.Mosley said: “We must wait for reports from the national authority and we shall look into any points they raise. However, I think it is going over the top to call for the closure of Monza Other parts of the circuit may have to be redone. One of the problems we have there is that the Monza circuit is in a park and there are objections to the cutting down of trees, but we may have got to the stage where we have to do that.”Monza is famed for its atmosphere and the passion of the fans, and drivers have commented that some marshals are caught up in the excitement and stand in dangerous areas.